After having some hot and rather spicy soup with plenty of noodles and meat in it for lunch I post the mana mill quest once more. Curiously enough it doesn't get picked off the board right away by Elzbieta today, although she sits right there, eating her own lunch, which is considerably larger than mine.

She just shakes her head as she notices me looking.

“Not today. Sorry. I already have other obligations. It seems there is a feisty fox about which has been nabbing chickens from some of the farms that are located a little further towards the coast. That is just about my thing.”

I can only nod. She is some kind of ranger after all and she can be pretty sneaky if she wants to be. At least that is the impression she gave me yesterday.

“Take care and bring back a nice pelt.”

She sniggers in between one spoon full of soup and the next.

“Sure. Will do. The ladies in the city really like those pelts for some reason. Has no one ever told them that there are much more fluffy pelts to be had out here rather than some shaggy fox?”

I shrug as I really have no clue about pelts.

“Given it's ladies with more money than common sense that we are talking about, it probably is some prestige thing. Or maybe it is about the colors? Never mind though. You just go and get that chicken thief.”

“Count on it!”

With a last wave I'm off again. As I return home I stop along the road to take a look at the smoke column in the distance once more. It hasn't grown, which I take to be a good sign. An out of control wildfire is the last thing we need right now. At the same time it doesn't look like it will die down on its own anytime soon either. The adventurers probably will stay out there to make sure it doesn't spread just as they will make sure none of the feral pixies get away. Which in turn means that I'm unlikely to see any of them in my shop anytime soon.

At least Sour Cream is still napping. The wreath I made for her is barely still recognizable at all. Even as I watch she starts kicking at it in her sleep again, spreading its sorry aromatic remnants further across the bed sheets.

I'll have to clean up that mess before going to bed tonight.

The sight of the peacefully, for a certain value of peaceful anyway, napping cat reminds me of something I still have to do. I have to come up with an enchanted cat collar or something like that to keep the ticks off her in the future without resorting to that nasty tincture.

Damn it! It would be best to study the enchantments on the inn's beds for that. Except I just came from there and don't want to head back down right away again. I sigh and resolve to do that tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow for sure! In the meantime I consult my trusty notebook.

As I read up on runes I can practically feel some of my former teachers breathing down my neck. They would always nag us to develop enchantments on our own, instead of looking at already existing, possibly centuries old enchantments first. They aren't exactly wrong either. If everyone only ever copied old works nothing new would ever get invented.

At the same time adapting already existing enchantments is, of course, much easier and less time consuming.

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Well, whatever. They aren't here now. I am and I have to make do somehow. I'll try to build the enchantment from scratch for now and compare my notes to the enchantments on the inn's beds tomorrow. That will be for the best.

Thus I spend the next few hours scribbling notes, revising them time and again, as I stumble over details or find a mistake. As the sun is about to set I have finished a first draft of something that should work.

I close my notebook as my feline companion brushes up against my legs. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what she wants, given the way she immediately leads me to her empty bowl.

I pour some sour cream into it for her, then I set out to close down the shop for the evening. As I catch Sour Cream disappearing out the window I wave.

“Good luck on your hunt, sweety!”

Then I'm alone. I'm not bored though. I still have work to do after all. The first order of business, with Sour Cream out of the house, is putting on some fresh bed sheets.

I know there are some in grandma's chest. I leave them there for now though. First I need to pull off the old ones. I do just that and shake it out just beyond the garden, as not to disturb any feline that might be on the prowl there. That takes care of the sad remains of the wreath I made for Sour Cream. It doesn't help with the blood stains from when she scratched me though. I'll have to properly clean them tomorrow. More laundry. Yay!

I fold the dirty sheets neatly and put them on the workbench, where they will be out of the way for the night. Only then do I get the fresh sheets from the chest. Years of practice making my own bed at the academy pay off now. I run my hands over the freshly made bed and take in its scent as well. It still smells of dried herbs, much like the rest of the house, except these tempt me to place my head on the pillow and just fall asleep. Lavender and valerian, as well as some others that aren't quite as dominant, if I'm not mistaken.

It takes considerable effort to resist the lure of the bed. I still have something I want to take care off. Something I noticed just now, as I changed the sheets.

I might not have to study the beds at the inn at all, as grandma's, now mine, might just hold the very same enchantment. I activate the appraisal skill just to make sure.

[Bug bane bed, Quality: Uncommon, A bed enchanted to ward off unwelcome bugs like flea, lice or bed bugs among others. The effect only extends to bugs not yet within the extended aura of another creature.]

I huff and frown. On one hand this is good to know. On the other hand it isn't quite what I'm looking for either. And of course it explains why Sour Cream still had ticks. The bed keeps away wandering bugs, but it doesn't affect bugs you bring in yourself, as long as they stay pretty close to you.

I'll need to make some more adaptions to the enchantment I want for Sour Cream's collar. For that matter I might just enchant a choker for myself in a similar way.

A choker or maybe a ribbon for my hair? I could use the latter as my hair is getting a little long. It would keep the bugs away and my hair out of my face. Two birds with one stone!

I get my notebook and the enchanted lantern and work on the enchantment for a little longer until I can't find any more adjustments to make. Should I give it a try?

I lick my lips and nod to myself. I won't be able to fall asleep unless I do give it a try. If it works as intended, good. If not? I might end up working until morning. I really hope that won't happen.

I dig through the chest for one of grandma's hair ribbons, taking great care not to pick a yellow one. In the end I settle for one that is a deep red, as it is the best match for my own hair.

I straighten it out and roll it back up, before I place it at the center of the enchanting table. Then I run the numbers for the circle through my mind once more. Satisfied with the result I light another candle to provide a little more light and grab the half piece of chalk I still have at hand. I don't want to use a fresh one for this.

Then I get going, placing rune after rune in a circle around the rolled up ribbon until the enchantment is complete. The glow of the runes intensifies for a moment, then they are drawn in towards the cloth ribbon at the heart of the assembly.

I let out the breath I have been holding and squint at the ribbon, activating the appraisal skill once more.

[Ribbon of the Queen Bee, Quality: Rare, A ribbon enchanted to attract bugs, especially useful, state building ones like bees. They are naturally drawn towards anyone wearing this ribbon and calm down in the person's presence.]

I blink. Well, damn. That isn't what I want. Not at all. It still sounds useful, but I'm weary. This is the opposite of what I wanted to achieve in so many ways, that it sends alarm bells ringing in my mind. This thing might just be cursed and if I were to put it on, I wouldn't be able to take it off on my own anymore. If it is cursed, I can't exactly trust the description provided by appraisal either.

I'll have to take it to the temple for a more thorough analysis tomorrow. And if it turns out to be cursed I'll have to burn it. It would be a real pity as well, as I really like this ribbon.